Coach Stephen Keshi will be given a new contract by the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, despite failing to qualify the Super Eagles for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, this is according to officials of the football body.

This is coming in spite of calls by Nigerian football fans that Keshi should be sacked for not qualifying Eagles for the biennial championship for them to defend the trophy they won in 2013.

According to latest report published by Africanfootball.com, quoting NFF’s executive committee member, Emeka Inyama, Keshi is now to be given a new contract.

“The board has mandated the technical committee to finalise a contract for Keshi as he still remains the coach of Nigeria,” Inyama reportedly said. Keshi has handled the Eagles without a contract after his initial three-year deal ran out after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

A lingering leadership tussle that dogged Nigeria football in the past four months delayed the coach signing a new deal.

The former coach of Togo and Mali national teams was re-instated as Nigeria’s head coach in October after the NFF executive committee led by Amaju Pinnick had initially replaced him with Shuaibu Amodu.